Schlafly's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is complex and strong, with coffee and chocolate flavors. The beer is brewed to have big malt flavor and hop bitterness to balance the sweetness of the high alcohol content. This stout is fermented for three months before being transferred to freshly emptied bourbon barrels. The beer ages for up to a year before being carbonated and bottled.

In the 18th Century, Imperial Stout was first brewed in London for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. The beer had to have a higher alcohol content to prevent freezing during transport. The process of aging beer in liquor barrels is new; there is no tradition for this process, as beer and liquor production have traditionally been kept separate. We hand-select Bourbon barrels from a micro-distillery in Bardstown, KY and transport the barrels immediately to St. Louis to ensure the barrels do not dry out before being filled with Imperial Stout. They are at the forefront of research and experimentation in barrel-aging, and are known for their expertise in this new brewing process.